Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, Marsha Blackburn, said he was concerned that the dating app’s algorithms are vulnerable to fraud.
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The bipartisan pair of senators is pushing the parent company of popular dating app Tinder about an algorithm they fear that users will remain vulnerable to “romance scams.”
In the letter, Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire and R-Tennessee’s Marsha Blackburn gave Match Group, which also owns a dating app hinge and Okcupid.
“Over the years, many events have raised questions about whether Match Group (in its business practices and algorithm design) contributed to the spread of romance fraud online,” the senator wrote to Match Group CEO Spencer Laskoff.
Lawmakers specifically pointed to a series of Federal Trade Commission complaints that the company allegedly exposed users to fraud on multiple occasions. Match Group says in legal documents it has “permanently halted” the practices that make these cases possible.
“The Match Group platform has become a breeding ground for bad actors who prey on vulnerable Americans, especially older people who have lost their lives savings due to fraud,” Blackburn said in a statement.
Yoel Roth, head of trust and safety at Match Group, said the company is looking forward to a “constructive conversation” with Hassan and Blackburn on fraud prevention issues.
“Protecting users from fraud is essential for our business and to gain people’s trust on our platform,” Ross said in a statement to USA Today. “In recent years, we have invested heavily in improving our sophisticated fraud detection, cutting-edge safety features and partnerships with law enforcement, industry and civil society groups to further protect our communities.
$1.3 billion lost to ‘romance scam’
Romance scams usually involve people who have fake intimate relationships with other users before seeking money. With each federal guidance, warning signs can include people who immediately profess their love, claim to live far away, move conversations to other apps, and demand bad grammar.
Elderly Americans are particularly vulnerable to practice. According to the FTC, romance scams hit a record high in 2022, with 70,000 people reporting a collective loss of $1.3 billion. The average victim lost about $4,400.
“Romance fraud takes millions of dollars of Americans each year, and it’s a catastrophic emotional cost in the process,” Hassan said in a statement.
Zachary Schermele is a council reporter for USA Today. You can contact him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @Zachschermele and follow Bluesky at @Zachschermele.bsky.social.
